BIG RAPIDS, MI -- Ferris State University said a slight one-time boost to its annual state appropriation this year was a welcome change after years of cuts, but lawmakers should develop a sustainable way to fund higher education, according to the university’s most recent annual audit.

“It’s unclear whether this formula will continue in the future, or how it might be modified,” administrators wrote, referencing a 3 percent boost to the state’s higher education budget. “Increase support is much needed but it is disappointing these funds were provided as one-time monies to support what are base university operating costs.”

Administrators also criticized recent reporting requirements implemented by the state, saying they were “unprecedented.”

The requirements are “intrusive, expensive, and of limited practical value,” according to the university’s audit.

When asked to elaborate on what reporting requirements Ferris was referencing, spokesman Marc Sheehan said the state requires the university to report financial information and answers to a range of other questions.

He said those include what type of accommodations the university makes for people of various religious beliefs and whether faculty are engaged in research on embryonic stem cells.

“We’re certainly in favor of transparency,” Sheehan said. “For some of these things, it’s perhaps difficult to see the ways in which the information could be put to really good use for the length of time it takes the university to put together answers to the information.”

Michael Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, said the state has introduced numerous reporting requirements for public universities in the past two years.

Collecting the information and putting it in the format mandated by the state has sometimes proved burdensome, he said.

“You spend a lot of time putting together reports that, frankly, you don’t know if anyone is looking at,” he said.

Ferris wasn’t the only university to criticize the state’s funding of higher education.

In Grand Valley State University’s annual audit, administrators wrote that despite receiving a 4.4 percent boost in state aid, its per-student funding lags behind that of other Michigan universities.

GVSU’s state appropriation for the 2012-13 school year totals about $55.4 million.

“This still places the university as receiving the lowest investment per student by the state,” administrators wrote. “Private support is an increasing priority as the university strives to keep tuition increases to a minimum and continues to support academic excellence and enrollment growth.”